21. Ash
Ash
The fire moon releases energy that makes people more aggressive and bold. At the very least, we need to run until we fall over with exhaustion. It is the moon that encourages people to do things that they wouldn’t dare do otherwise.
Big decisions shouldn’t be made during the fire moon.
But humans don’t believe in the fire moon, or the Moon that comforts us as the pillar of our faith. They believe in alchemy, placing their faith entirely in those who can wield the earth element.
Alchemists are at the top of the human power structure. Those with no access to the element are powerless and often placed at the bottom of their societal ranks.
The Stormcrest pack ignores their human counterparts and celebrates all the full moons, including fire. They don’t celebrate it the way we do in my pack, but any celebration of fire is better than none. It tells me their pack still honors werewolf traditions.
“Remind me why I’m hanging out with you tonight of all nights,” Blade says while he scratches his belly.
Since fire has been riding me tonight more than usual, being around me during the fire moon amplifies its energy.
Every werewolf is itchy. The urge to shift and run for miles rides us while we’re stuck in the castle.
“We’re promoting world peace,” I tell him.
“Do you think the treaty will last?” he asks.
“We’ll find out tonight. Three elemental werewolves from three warring packs will be stuck under one roof while the fire moon shines down upon us.”
“What could possibly go wrong?” Blade asks.
Mmhm. “What did Soren say when you suggested we drop downers into the barrels of ale?”
“He ordered it done.”
Everyone is drinking, so unless he plans to kill off his pack mates, it’s safe for me to drink. I swallow a mugful and grab another one. My fire will burn through the alcohol, but a happy little buzz is better than nothing. “Crises may yet be avoided.”
“Only if you stay away,” Blade counters.
I accept a small piece of bread from a female walking around the entertainment hall carrying a basket of baked goods.
She smiles kindly and bats her lashes at Blade, who winks at her.
“Will you take a female for the night?” I ask.
“Looks like it. Runa is a no-show, it seems.”
I take a deep breath and clench my teeth as I exhale lest I spit fire at him like a dragon. Dragons don’t exist. Unless I turn into one.
Blade smirks as he takes a sip of his ale.
He’s baiting me. He wants me to admit that I’m attracted to Runa. But I’m not saying a damn thing. He knows she’s the little wolf who proved resistant to fire, and that’s all he needs to know for now. Since the Council developed an interest in her, I’m even more determined to protect her from them.
They can’t touch her. They can look at her from a distance of at least ten feet.
“I wonder where she is,” Blade says.
I bite my tongue. A copper taste coats my mouth, and I swallow it down, wondering what would happen if I punched Blade in the nose. His nose would break, which would be satisfying, but the loss of my temper would set off a sequence of events that would result in massive casualties in the castle.
Some wolves are already shifting, leaving the party to roam the hallways.
Soren comes in, spots us, and walks over. “There’s an indoor rugby field if you want to play.”
“I’ll play,” Blade says.
“Me too. Let’s go.”
As I pass him, Soren places a hand on my chest. “Maren nested.”
I stare at his fingers, fantasizing about breaking them. “I’m aware.”
He drops his hand. “Don’t be late to visit her. With you around, the fire moon is very painful to the unmated omegas in the pack.”
“So service them,” I tell him.
“You’re missing the point,” Blade says. “Your presence here isn’t wanted. Get lost in the nest and don’t come back until dawn.”
“What are you? His interpreter?”
Blade shrugs. “You weren’t getting the clue.”
I spot the Stormcrest Alpha making his way over to us. “Good luck with the game,” I say, then leave to intercept the Alpha.
“I thought you might be here,” he says by way of greeting while handing me a basket.
It’s customary for the parents of an omega to prepare a basket for the male who will enter their daughter’s nest. The chosen male can’t very well enter the nest without providing necessary nourishment for the night. It’s not how courting an omega works.
Dutifully, I accept the basket, gloating at the fact that they have no idea the Regulator is balls-deep in their daughter’s pussy. The basket he handed me could only be for his youngest daughter, the one neither he nor his wife wants to give up.
They’re set on Runa staying as the keeper of the Stormcrest omega line. That makes her even more appealing to me. I want to take their prized possession.
That’s if I can find the hole Runa crawled into and nested in. She knows the terrain better than I do.
“Don’t let me stop you from going to the nest now,” he tells me.
“I won’t, don’t worry.”
He locks eyes with me. “You’re a prick, you know that? I don’t like you, but for the good of our people, I have to make peace with my enemy.”
“I’m not your enemy.”
The Alpha laughs. “We’ve been at war since you came of age. I’d say that makes us enemies.”
“I have no bone to pick with you. You chose to protect the humans. You could’ve said no when they came to you.”
“They would have destroyed my pack.”
“I’d have protected you.”
“I don’t need your protection. I need you to leave as soon as the storm passes.”
“If you didn’t make Maren nest, we’d already have been on our way.”
The Alpha accepts a drink from a server circulating with a tray. The band belts out a famous tune, and people sing along. A group of five females take to the dance floor. They’re wearing jean skirts that barely cover their bottoms. The thing about Stormcrest females? They’re tall and leggy.
My pack mates are staring up those skirts, drooling over those legs. Luckily, there are enough rooms in the castle, or this dance party would quickly turn into an orgy.
“I saw what happened with you and Runa.”
Alarmed, I ask, “What happened?”
“The Peacebroker showed me a video of Runa walking into your fire. I have to tell you, my heart sank when you lost control and flooded the cavern. But you drew it away from her.” The Alpha appears genuinely grateful when he says, “I don’t know how you managed that, but thank you.
My wife and I couldn’t imagine anything happening to our youngest child.
We love all our children, but the youngest, no matter how grown, will always be our baby. ”
He looks at me expectantly, but I have nothing to offer. I have no kids. “Did you identify her to the Peacebroker?”
“You think I’m an idiot? Of course not. I told the Peacebroker most Stormcrest females look that way in their wolf form.”
While that is true, we can tell the difference. And we can also identify people by the way they smell. “They showed you the video because they wanted you to identify her.”
“Let me worry about that. You need to explain what happened when Runa walked into your fire.”
“You should ask her. She’s the one who interrupted my purge.”
The Alpha narrows his eyes. “I’m asking you.”
“I don’t have an answer.”
“This is serious,” he hisses, then he drags me out of the room as if I’m a boy. I let him. I’m trying to respect the elder and not give in to the urge to slice his throat. That would be very bad.
“You’re the fire elemental. You control the element, so you’re responsible for the way it behaves.”
“In that case, I just didn’t want her to burn, so she didn’t.”
The Alpha levels me with a stare. “Manipulating an element in such a precise way is very difficult. Wouldn’t you say?”
“It is what it is. My fire. My business.”
“They’ll think you’ve mastered control of it.”
“Is there a point to this conversation? Because the entire point of my life, your son’s life, for that matter, is to learn to control our element so that nobody dies.”
The Alpha smiles, but sadness is evident in his eyes. “If my son controls his element, then they don’t.” He claps me on the shoulder. “Happy fire moon, Ash Fireborn. Don’t destroy what little is left of us.”